Local family urges neighbors to help fight leukemia and lymphoma
By: Scott Morgan
A year and a half later, Josh Shafer is still only halfway through the treatments. Just about 18 months ago, the 5-year-old from Roebling was diagnosed with acute lymphomatic leukemia and started spending much of his time at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Has it slowed him down? At times, says Josh’s mom, Amy. But Josh, now 6, is back in first grade at Roebling Elementary School, fresh off a season of soccer playing in which he earned four goals, and looking forward to karate class. She said simply, "He’s just raring to go."
But Josh still has a tiring medical regimen. Daily visits to Children’s Hospital, chemotherapy every two weeks. And the family still has hefty medical bills to pay.
The good news is that a lot of people are planning to lend helping hands. Or, more accurately, feet. On Dec. 3, the "Run 5k for the Holiday," a race benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society kicks off at Green Acres Recreation Park on Old York Road in Burlington Township. As in last year’s race, which raised $5,000 for the society, Josh will be the event’s honored hero.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society runs its 5K race (and a 1.5K fitness walk) every year to raise money to aid research hoping to treat and cure blood cancers. While the society annually highlights a cancer survivor, money raised from the race does not directly benefit that survivor, donations are going to the society in Josh’s honor, Ms. Shafer says.
"Everybody wins," she says. "They’re helping us and we’re helping them."
So far, Ms. Shafer says, enrollment for the race is down noticeably from last year. She says she hopes to see a lot more people both volunteer to help with the race and run in it. She would like to see the race get bigger and raise more awareness, she says, because the more money raised, the more can go to help cancer patients and honor others besides her son.
Ms. Shafer herself says she’s going to try to run, but with so much to do in so short a time with less help than before, she’s not sure she’ll get the chance. Either way, she says, Josh wants to be involved as much as he can with this year’s race, regardless of what the chemotherapy takes out of him.
"This has turned him into a compassionate little kid," she says. "He just never complains. He’s amazing."
For more information regarding the Run 5K for the Holiday race, visit www.holiday5k.org.

